VITO: Doubt is no match for Wellington Zaza's ambitions as he stars at Penn Relays (With Video)

By CHRISTOPHER A. VITO

Saturday, April 27, 2013

PHILADELPHIA -- When it comes to Wellington Zaza's performance on the track, disbelief has been a major motivator.

One of Delaware County's top high school sprinters as an underclassman, Zaza didn't settle for a one-trick career. He devoted time in the offseason to converting himself into a sound jumper. And when that wasn't enough for him, Zaza spent last summer adding hurdles to his repertoire with intense training in Louisiana.

So when Zaza, a senior at Garnet Valley, showed up to Franklin Field Saturday morning wearing a long-sleeve T-shirt that read, "Don't believe me? Just watch," no one seemed to bat an eye.

Those who weren't believers in Zaza might be eating their words.

Zaza went out on a high note, medaling in his final go-around at Penn Relays. He took third in the boys 400-meter hurdles competition, cutting through the crisp morning air to cross in 52.79 seconds. In the earliest championship event of the carnival's final day, Zaza was one of only three in the hurdles field to break the 53-second plateau.

Omar McLeod, of Jamaica's Kingston College, and Julian Woods, from Century High in Sykesville, Md., were the only hurdlers to outrun Zaza.

Running has always come naturally to Zaza. The jumping element came later.

Zaza said there was always a coach or a family member in his life who was pushing him to get more out of himself. At Saturday's run, his aunt Robin Bennett and cousin and Garnet Valley teammate Jordyn Bennett played that role.

In the previous summers, it's been his club and high school track coaches.

The 400-meter hurdles are somewhat of a novelty at this stage of Zaza's career. Considering the high school platform features only the 110- and 300-meter hurdles competitions, no one would have been critical of Zaza had he performed poorly Saturday.

But that wouldn't have fallen in line with what Zaza's been able to accomplish in his career. At the PIAA championship meet last spring, then running for Strath Haven, Zaza was a gold medalist in the triple jump, a silver medalist in the 300 hurdles and a fourth-place finisher in the 110s.

It's apparent Zaza has become quite successful at clearing hurdles -- on the track or off of it, like making the move from Upper Darby to Haven to Garnet Valley, all in a four-year scholastic career.

That's why he took so well to training for the 400-meter hurdles. Zaza said his two coaches -- Garnet Valley's Andrew Etter and Charles Sawyer, of Upper Darby-based Royalty Track Club -- told him last summer that training to run the 400 would be "good prep" for the college ranks.

"From their standpoint, I'm a good athlete," Zaza said, "and if they believe in me, I'm not going to let them down."

The biggest challenge in the 400, Zaza said, is conserving energy early and gaining it late. For a sprinter, that might be asking a lot. But not for Zaza. Starting in the eighth lane in the first of Saturday's two championship heats, Zaza made his run look easy. He cleared all 10 gates cleanly, and saved enough in the tank to push past two runners -- including one that took a tumble trying to clear the last gate -- to finish second in his heat.

Zaza's third-place finish overall topped his previous-best Penn Relays medal: a fourth-place finish last season in the triple jump.

"This tops everything," he said with a big grin.

Zaza, who considers Ohio State and Texas Christian his top college choices, is a District One championship meet qualifier this season in the 110 and 300 hurdles and the long and triple jumps. On top of that, he told Etter he wanted to be available to run with Garnet Valley later Saturday afternoon in the team's 4 x 400 Central League race.

As if Zaza hasn't done enough.

"It's a lot of fun coming out here because I'm originally a jumper and this is new and I wanted to run as much as possible today," Zaza said. "Plus, it's my home state, my hometown and I just wanted to do it. I want everyone to know I can do it."

Another day and another meet, with Zaza turning casual spectators into believers.